Lakers Gave Up Too Much for Gasol

Grizzlies owner Mike Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal the Bulls refused to go into the luxury tax for Pau Gasol, while the Lakers would. So Heisley traded him to Los Angeles.’We had conversations with Chicago which were non-satisfactory,’ Heisley said. ‘They didn’t want to take on the luxury-tax situation, and Los Angeles would. In this league, if you’re in a big-market area you can afford to do those things. ‘We negotiated as hard as we could for quality players, and (the Bulls) refused to give up anybody in their core group. What they offered us were guys who play on the second and third team, so we turned them down.’ [Click here for more from the Chicago Tribune.->http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080203-smith-chicago-bulls-tax,1,3715154.story?ctrack=1&cset=true]